Room cooler



Jan. 27, 1910 T. c. CAVIS 3,491,550

ROOM COOLER Filed June 27, 1968 FIG.2

INVENTOR. THOMAS C. CAVIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,491,550 ROOMCOOLER Thomas C. Cavis, Onalaska, Wis., assignor to The Trane Company,La Crosse, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 27, 1968, Ser.No. 740,724 Int. Cl. F25d 21/14, 17/06 US. Cl. 62-285 6 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE The instant invention relates to cabinet type roomcoolers employing an air cooling heat exchanger and blower for coolingroom air circulated therethrough. Particularly, this invention relatesto the mounting of the heat exchanger, drain pan, and blower motorwithin the unit in such a manner as to keep condensate off the motor.The presence of condensate on the motor is inherently deleterious to themotor.

The structural means to achieve this objective will be apparent from thedetailed description of the invention with the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a room cooling unit connected to arefrigeration system and embodying the invention with a front portion ofthe housing broken away to more clearly disclose the inner working partsthereof;

FIGURE 2 is a section of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along line 2-2;and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective of a detail motor supporting member.

Now referring to the drawing, there is shown a room cooling unit havinga cabinet or housing 12 including a front side 14, a back side 16, a topside 18, and a pair of end walls 20. Top side 18 is provided with an airoutlet 22 which extend across the top of the housing adjacent the frontwall 14. An air inlet 24 to the housing is provided at the foot of thefront wall. The bottom of the housing is normally substantially closedby the floor of the room. Various interior walls of the unit may beprovided with thermal and sound insulation 21 if desired.

Disposed within housing 12 between inlet 24 and outlet 22 is a generallyhorizontal drain pan fan board 26 which divides the interior of housing12 into an upper chamber 28 and a lower chamber 30. Drain pan 26 may besupported from the end walls 20 via brackets 22 at each end thereof forcollecting cool condensate which drains from coil 32. The drain pan isnecessarily cooled by such condensate.

Disposed within upper chamber 28 is a fin-and-tube type cooling heatexchanger coil 32 which is supported from the end valls 20 via brackets34 at each thereof. Coil 32 may be connected as the evaporator in aconventional closed refrigerant circuit serially connecting a compressor7, a condenser 8, throttling valve 9, and the coil 32. In thealternative, coil 32 may be connected to be cooled by a secondaryrefrigerant such as chilled water. Coil 32 is tilted upwardly rearwardlyhaving its upper edge adjacent back side 16 and its lower edge adjacentdrain pan 26 and spaced from back side 16. Coil 32 eifectively dividesupper chamber 28 into a iront portion 36 and a rear portion 38. Outlet22 in the top side communicates directly with the front portion 36 ofchamber 28. Because of the disposition of coil 28, substantially all theair passing from the rear portion 38 to the front portion 36 of chamber28 must pass through the coil 28 to be cooled thereby. Air is deliveredto the rear portion 38 of chamber 28 from chamber 30 via a pair ofblowers 40.

Each of blowers 40 has a scroll-shaped housing 42 preferably molded ofplastic or other material low in heat conductivity. The dischargeportion 44 of each blower housing extends upwardly through an aperturein the drain pan 26 into the rear portion 38 of chamber 28. The inlets46 of blowers 42 communicate with lower chamber 30. If desired a filter48 may be disposed within chamber 30 whereby air entering unit housinginlet 24 is filtered as it passes upwardly through chamber 30 to blowerinlet 46. Blower housings 42 are fastened via screws or otherappropriate fasteners (not shown) to drain pan 26.

An electric blower motor 50 is disposed below drain pan 26 betweenblower housings 42. The shaft 52 of motor 50 extends horizontally fromeach end thereof into each blower housing. Each of the shaft extensionscarries a blower rotor 54 within each housing. Each end of the motor hasa circular boss or mounting area 56 circumscribing the motor shaftextension by which the motor may be mounted. The motor 50 is mounted onthe lower side of the drain pan 26 via mounting means 58 disposed ateach end of the motor.

Each mounting means 58 has a substantially annular wire loop or yokeportion 60 substantially circumscribing one of the circular boss ormounting areas 56 of motor 50. The ends of wire loop 60 are connected todrain pan 26 via wire ligaments 62. Wire ligaments 62 are at least tentimes their diameter so as to present a thermal path of high resistanceto minimize heat conduction therethrough from motor 50 to drain pan 26.Ligaments 62 and loop 60 of each mounting means '58 are disposed in acommon plane normal to the motor shaft 52. However, the ligaments 62diverge from each other in a direction away from loop 60 which increasestheir length and thus therein thermal resistance. The upper end of eachligament 62 is provided with an elongated loop 64 which extends in adirection parallel to shaft 52 through which a stud 66 fastened to drainpan 26 extends. Eacn stud 66 has a nut 68 thereon which when tightenedclamps loop 64 rigidly to the drain pan. By loosening nuts 68 themounting means 58 may be adjusted to permit axial adjustment of themotor 50. Each loop 60 is clamped to the motor mounting area 56 via aclamping means 70 interposed between the lower ends of ligaments 62 andthe ends of loop 60. Clamping means 70 is formed by providing anaperture 72 in the connections between each end of loop 60 and ligaments62. This may be done by flattening a portion of the wire in these areasif desired. The head of a bolt 74 extending through apertures 72 bearsagainst the rim of one aperture 72 while a nut 76 on bolt 74 bearsagainst the rim of the other aperture 72 of each mounting means 58. Bytightening nut 76 the hoop tension in loop 60 is increased therebyrigidly connecting the loop 60 to the motor 50.

It will thus be seen that appreciable cooling of motor 56 via of heattransmission from the motor to the cool drain pan through the motormounting means 58 is virtually eliminated by reason of the relativelysmall diameter of ligaments 62 and their diverging relation which addsto their length thereby enhancing their thermal resistance.

Having now described the preferred embodiment of my invention, Icontemplate that many changes may be made without departing from thescope or spirit of my invention and I accordingly desire to be limitedonly by the claims.

I claim:

1. An air cooler comprising in combination: an air cooler heat exchangerfor cooling air below the dew point thereof; a drain pan mounted belowsaid heat exchanger for receiving from said heat exchanger watercondensed from the air; at least one scroll-shaped blower housingdisposed below said drain pan for passing air upwardly beyond said drainpan through said heat exchanger; a blower rotor in said blower housing;an electric motor disposed below said drain pan, and having a driveshaft extending into said blower housing; said rotor being mounted onsaid shaft extension for rotation therewith; and means for supportingsaid motor from said drain pan in a manner to minimize heat conductionfrom said motor to said drain pan thereby minimizing condensation ofmoisture on said motor from the air; said support means being aplurality of metallic wire ligaments extending between said motor andsaid drain pan; each of said ligaments having a length of at least tentimes its width thereby rendering the thermal path through said wireligaments relatively high in thermal resistance.

2. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said 3. The apparatus asdefined by claim 2 wherein each of said wire ligaments extends from anend of said wire loop in a diverging relation with respect to another ofsaid wire ligaments in a direction away from said motor.

4. The apparatus as defined by claim 3 wherein said clamping means isdisposed between said wire ligaments and said loop for drawing the endsof said 100p together.

5. The apparatus as defined by claim 3 wherein said ligaments liesubstantially in said plane.

6. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein each of said ligamentshas an elongated loop at the upper terminal portion thereof adjacentsaid drain pan; the longitudinal axis of said elongated loops extendingaxially with respect to said shaft; and means on said drain panextending through said elongated loop for adjustably securing said loopsto said drain pan.

References Cited U.S. Cl. X.R.

